SA Results - low sperm count

[melissaelaine]

Well, the long-awaited SA results are in and it confirmed our fears: DH has severely low sperm counts. But, it's not zero! He came in at .10 million/ml, for a total of .39 million in his sample. His motility and progressive motility were both 25% and he had too few sperm in his sample to test the morphology. The other factors were normal (viscosity, pH, liquification, etc.).

We haven't talked to the doctor yet (aren't scheduled for our first RE appointment until October 7), but i insisted he go ahead and get the SA done so that when we meet with the RA we have as much information as possible. These results indicate to me that we are going to have to do IVF with ICSI. I am preparing myself for that now, but would love to hear from some of you all who have gone through similar experiences.

Thank you all in advance for sharing!

 

[CaliDreaming]

Sorry about the low results. On the bright side, it's good that he has some sperm. I was reading an account by one woman whose husband only had 72 sperm total in his ejaculate--not 72 million or 72 thousand, but just 72. She and her hubby were able to get preggo with IVF with ICSI.

My hubby has borderline low counts, but since we can't afford IVF we just have to hope that they improve with diet and supplements.

 

[Briss]

melissaelaine, we are in a similar situation. hubby has low count and morphology. He had about 4 SA and results changed from time to time, his SA dramatically improved since he quit beer but unfortunately he could not stay away from beer for long. our FS insisted we do IVF but we refused 2 year ago as I was sure we could improve his count or get lucky, well we did neither unfortunately so I am reconciled with IVF now.

IVF is very serious and I would not recommend doing it lightly, try improving your DH's SA with lifestyle changes and vitamins and repeat his SA in 3-6 months and if it does not improve than consider assisted conception.

It could just be a one off bad result, if e.g. your DH had a flu in the last 3 months it could completely destroy all sperm and it takes 3 months to get the sperm count to build up again.

 

[melissaelaine]

Thanks for your thoughts, CaliDreaming and Briss.

Briss- We are certainly focusing on diet to try to get his number up before diving in to IVF. Since we have a month before our RE appointment, we have a bit of a head start to trying to get healthier. Beer is a big problem for DH too. He makes his own beer and loves craft brew, so it will be hard. But so far he seems enthusiastic about getting healthier to give us a better chance!

I don't think it's a bad result. He had some issues when he was a kid (undescended testicle) that can lead to infertility issues later in life. So we expected this to some extent. But, we are going to do what we can to increase it!

 

[CaliDreaming]

That's the spirit! I've seen some men get some really magical increases in their sperm count and quality with diet and supplements. So good that your hubby is embracing the changes.

 

[Briss]

if his impaired fertility is the result of undescended testicle, there might not be much you can do. but in any case try lifestyle changes and see if it makes a difference. would be great to get him to see a urologist.

Beer is a problem cos it makes their bodies produce more oestrogen and their testosterone goes down together with sperm count.

 

[toch1402]

Hi,

Super positive vibes! I just wanted to post a positive story with a severely low sperm count. We had numbers similar to you and after 2 SAs (numbers didn't change and DP was on a health drive and practically rattled with all the vitamins he was taking!) we went straight to IVF-ICSI. It is important to get a second SA done as numbers can change but we were told that if the numbers are very low then it is unlikely there will be a massive change on subsequent SAs (we think that mumps and him just being made that way is the reason for DP's very low count) BUT you just need one spermie!

We had first time success with IVF-ICSI and we now have a beautiful 9 month old baby girl

Good luck with your journey! x

 

[calm]

Hello there, my DH has severe male factor and it was a big shock when we found out, he is healthy and young so I wasn't expecting it at all. I will be doing ISCI, I know loads from here who have done it and got pregnant and had kids, but I know it can knock you for six when you first find out, so big

 

[Briss]

we repeated DH's SA today and after he resumed his beer drinking (since May) his count moved down from 11 to 7 million, motility from 58 to 50% but interestingly his morphology move up from 2 to 3%. we were told that they need at least 3 % morphology to do IVF rather than ICSI. I am so hoping we could do that. I am just trying to do it as close to natural as realistically possible.

 

[melissaelaine]

Thank you Toch1402 and calm for your thoughts and stories! I am so happy to hear stories of success and encouragement. You all make me realize I am not alone and that there is reason to hope!

Briss- congratulations on the morphology improvement! Do you all have a date set for IVF yet?

 

[calm]

I started this month, but at a very early stage as I am taking the pill to suppress my cycle, still waiting to see if it has XXXX

 

[melissaelaine]

Good luck, calm!

Random question - I've seen a lot of the UK girls talking about Wellmans. I don't think we have that in the US. Does anyone know whether there is a similar supplement offered in the US? Or, does anyone have a list of the ingredients in Wellmans?

ETA: I found the formula, in case anyone is interested: https://www.vitabiotics.com/wellman/conception_formula.aspx

 

[pn2011]

Briss, does your DH take all of those supplements plus the Wellmans conception?

 

[Briss]

pn2011, Yes he takes all of them plus Wellman conception. Wellman conception is great but doses are still low for zink, b12, E, selenium etc plus he takes additional supps to help his body produce more testosterone. His count fluctuates and I cant really say that these sups are working. the only thing that made a difference was quitting beer but that's very hard to sustain for long for him. his count has never been within norm…whatever we tried so we are considering IVF now. it's just been too long

 

[pn2011]

Briss, Thank you for your reply! I hope you have better luck with IVF! DH has almost zero sperm....when we did IVF/ICSI, he had testicular surgery and they were only able to find 5! And even though we were able to create strong embryos, our IVF cycle wasn't successful.

 

[melissaelaine]

Briss, Thank you for your reply! I hope you have better luck with IVF! DH has almost zero sperm....when we did IVF/ICSI, he had testicular surgery and they were only able to find 5! And even though we were able to create strong embryos, our IVF cycle wasn't successful.

I am so sorry to hear that! What were his numbers from his SA? Is there any chance you can try again?

 

[Briss]

pn2011, very sorry your IVF was not successful. Did you discuss with the clinic what was the problem? Can you try again? I read that the most important mistake people make is giving up after one unsuccessful IVF, so many get lucky the second time around. They gave us 10-16% success of IVF working so I am preparing myself that it's going to take several attempts to get us there. I am doing natural modified cycle (less meds, easy on the ovaries but only 1-2 eggs are expected at EC) and will probably be doing them every other cycle or every 2 cycles. natural IVF does not screw your cycle it works with it so you can theoretically do it every cycle (money is obviously the issue) but I still want to give my body chance to recover between each attempt

 

[goldfishy]

Briss when do you start your ivf cycle? I note you're in London, which hospital you going with? We have had our first appt with guys acu and currently waiting for af to start. At the first appt, the doc found I had endo on left ovary and I am completely asymptomatic. Was also toldy fsh was high at 9 and I have low ovarian reserve at 33!

But on the positive, Dh had an S.A. and vol was 2ml, 15m count, 87% motility and 5% morph. His best results ever apart from actual count! I've had him on zinc tablets only (40mg) for about a year. I think this has helped the quality but not count.

Best of luck x

 

[Briss]

goldfishy, great improvement to your DH's SA. I had my DH on zinc + everything else for at least 1.5 years. I still think that unless he quits beer completely nothing is going to make any difference unfortunately.

We are planning to do natural modified IVF with Create https://www.createhealth.org/ivf-treatment-services/ivf-treatments. My recent FSH was 19!! so I am not suitable for ovarian stimulation, at Create they go with natural approach or mild stimulation. we are aiming for 2 eggs to be collected.

 

[goldfishy]

I'd never heard of create until this link. Their stats look pretty good esp for low amh women. We've been given 1 fresh cycle and 2 frozen under nhs but if this doesn't work, will definitely consider create so pls keep us updated.
When do you start?